taken aback
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An invitation brings a smile to your face, but the fact that you were taken aback by the sender of the invite created just enough friction in the process to give you pause.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
His mask had slid off, and Amundson was taken aback by how young he was.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Europeans constantly seem taken aback at how seriously Americans take themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
“She was completely taken aback by it. She was like, ‘Wow, this is how it really is.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Ortiz went to see the piece and was taken aback; it was, to his mind, clearly a fake, full of contradictory and slipshod elements.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
